Some simple things can fall by the wayside when it comes to a budget. In this case, it is the beautification of some of Suffolk’s schools.

Thankfully, there are plenty of citizens in Suffolk that care about their city and the public schools. Churches around the area banded together with Serve the City to give a facelift to seven different schools in Suffolk.

Recently volunteers from five different churches took the time to make Booker T. Washington Elementary School beautiful.

More than a half-dozen volunteers were at Booker T. Washington on Monday for landscaping the school’s 7,091 square foot courtyard space. They worked in the heat and humidity to pull weeds, edge garden beds, cut branches and clear trash and debris.

The other six schools will receive some type of renovation, whether it is landscaping, painting or other renovations. Volunteers will spend at least six hours a day making sure they are beautiful.

Serve the City plans on doing even more than the seven school renovations. The group of churches also plans on making plastic grocery bag bedrolls to distribute to multiple groups, improving the residence of a disabled veteran’s home and delivering lunches to first responders, teachers and others.

Just a few hours have the ability to transform a space, and having the schools look just a little bit better can make a difference for the students, teachers and other staff.

The courtyard is used for classes during the school year for the children to appreciate growing their own vegetables and as a stress-reliever for students and staff that want fresh air in a green place.

There are plenty of churches in Suffolk, all with different congregations, but they selflessly give chunks of their summer to help make the city better. Without these kinds of partnerships, these things wouldn’t happen as quickly.

Budgets get swamped with pay raises, technology and repairs, and something as simple as landscaping can slip through the cracks.

Suffolk is better for these groups and the volunteer work they do.